On this page
- Departments (3)
- Adverts (12)
-
Text (7)
-
4 THE NORTHERN STAIL August 23, 184&. — ...
-
RICHARDSON , MANUF ACTURING CUTLER,
-
ArmusG Accidest. —On Tuesday evening a most aimallimr event hannened on boai-3 thc Moon-
-
shine steamer, which ' runs from London-...
-
THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1S15.
-
THE ROCK A-HEAD! WHAT WILL "Bl'ECULAT10S...
-
THE PROSPECTS OF THE HARVEST. Tins, too,...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
4 The Northern Stail August 23, 184&. — ...
4 THE _NORTHERN _STAIL August 23 , 184 & .
Richardson , Manuf Acturing Cutler,
_RICHARDSON , MANUF ACTURING CUTLER ,
Ad00405
_EstABtisnan IMto , Scar the Church , Kensington . GARDENERS _'roming , _Graftin-j-, and Budding Knivei in Sheath , Is . Od . each ; shut ditto , Ss . each . " Tliese knives are'made of the best materials ; I al-* k » jsase them . "—Slit ** e _bte _Vtm- Cobbett in his _L-ng lish Gardener . Rakes , Hoe * , and Gardening Tools of every description .
Ad00406
COALS . PROVIDE FOR WINTER . PROTIDEXT FAMILIES , subscribing It . per week to the Metropolitan Coal Company ' . ? Shilling Club , can fihtain fonr half tons _annuallv , without _further charge , tines , ic . The Company ' s price current is , Beit Screened _TValls-«* nd , 25 s . per full ton ; Seconds , 21 s ., 22 s ., and 33 s ; Coke , _ITs . Cd . Office , 219 , High Holborn .
Ad00407
• _GENUINE TEAS AND COFFEES FOR THE MILLION . The cheapest place in London for Teas and Codecs is at the Warehouse , 24 and 25 , Regent Street , Westminster , near the Yaurhall Bridge Road . THE Proprietor , E . WA 11 MIXGTOX , _taices this opportunity to return thanks for the liberal support lie has received since he opened the _ahnre premises ; and to those who have not yet favoured him with theirpatronage , E . W . most strongly solicits a trial , feeling assured that the articles sold at the warehouse , both in price and quality , sill give universal satisfaction . Goods in any quantity sent free to all parts of London and the suburbs ; nnd persons in the country , hy remitting a Post-office order , will find their instructions faithfully attended to .
Ad00408
KOT _1 CB TO EJfrGRASTS . THE Undersigned continue to engage Passengers for First-Class Fast-Sailing AMERICAN PACKET SHIPS , which average from 1000 to 1500 Toug , for the following Ports , Tii . : — _KEWYOR 1 C I BOSTON , PHILADELPHIA , SEW ORLEAXS . _BALTHtOKE . | BRITISH AMERICA , Ac . Emigrants in th » country car engage passage by letter addressed as underneath ; in wh . _? h case they need not be iaXiverpool-until tho day before the Ship is to sail ; and - _tfeey -will thereby avoid detention and other expenses , beside * securing a _theaper passage , and having the hest _ocrth * allotted to them previous to their arrival . For farther particulars apply , post-paid , to JAMES BfiCKETT & SOS . _Jforth End Prince ' s Bock , liverpool .
Ad00409
TO THE WORKING CLASSES . IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL . * We are always gratified in noticing the laudahle e « r" _tSons of the industrious and provident among our fellow-labourers in the social vineyard , to avert from themselves and families , as far as human foresight may do , the calamities attendant upon an old ago of destitution , or a period of wearisome inactivity and _uselesshcbs , through sickness or accident ; and we will venture -to say , that up to the extreme limit of what is called the middle class of society , thereis no method so likely to -attain the object as the institution of securely based and judiciously regulated Benefit Societies . Our attention was some time since called to the subject hy the proceedings of one accordant with our views , enrolled
Ad00410
In the Press , and will be published at the hitter end of September , THE POOR MAX'S -COMPANION : or , Political Almanack for lSlli . By _Josnci Hobson . Thts year ' s num ( ii-r ofthe popular Chat tist Annual will -contain a full history , —and solution of the Mystery , —ol Paper Money , the National Debt , and overwhelming taxation ; together with an exposure of tlie fraud intended by those who seek for 3 new and unlimited issue of Yaper Money . Thc justice and reasonableness of _Equitaple _Adjoitmest over all other _si-hi-mes of Montlary Reform , will also be made apparent . ' The Companion will be published by the usual _publifki-M .
Ad00411
COLOSSEUM . ' PATRONI SED and visited by her Host Gracious MAJESTY and his Royal Higliniss Prince ALBERT . OPEN * DAILY from Ten till Six . Pronounced by the Prese , and confirmed by every visitor lo be the most perfect triumph of Art in its various branches , both by Day and _NijJit , that has i-rer been achieved . Equal to six exhibitions . The Glyptotheca , containing works of the first artists ; Mont Blanc nnd Mountain Torrents , Superb Conservatories , Gothic Aviary , Classic Ruins and Fountains , Panorama of London , re-pnintcd by Mr . Tarris , he Admittance , Ss . Children , half-price . The Stalactite Caverns , the most magnificent of all the temples which nature has built for _htrwelf in the regions of night , Is . extra .
Ad00412
THE variable state ofthe _AVEATIIER has produced the numerous cases of low fever and debility existing at present , aud is a sure _indication of I 1 nbitu . 1 l costiveness , caused generally by want of care in attending to the state of the digestive visceral organs . The only real remedy in such cases is LOUD Et . DOX' 8 AI'EKIEXT PILLS , which have been the meaus of positive cure to many thousands ; they are peculiarly adapted for persons of both sexes who are of sedentary habits , they arc _patronised by the nobility and gentry , and are the mildest and most efficacious medicine extant . Sold in boxes at Is . lhl ., 2 s . 9 d ., and *! s . Cd ., by _Mcfsrs . _BarclaTand Co ., S 3 , _Farringdon-strcet ; Sutton and Co ., 10 . Bow Church-yard ; _Xewhuvy , 45 , and M * x . wds , f . 5 , St . Yam ' s ; Sanger , 150 , Oxford-street ; aud by all respectable Druggists nnd Medicine Venders in the kingdom ; and wholesale at 13 , Grtat St . Thomas Apostle , London . TESTIHOSUL TO LORD _ELDOS'S PILLS .
Ad00413
The many thousands who cannot write , and aro anxious to learn , but have no opportunities of getting instruction from a writing master , can now TEACH THEMSELVES by " « 7 _* IG . UTMAVS SELF-IXSTUUCTIXG COPYV T BOOKS , each containing forty pages of large post >' o . 1 contains strokes , pothooks , hangers , the partial formation of all the letters in the alphabet , and the alphabet complete . No . 2 , joined letters , capitals , and figures . No . S , copies of text hand , round hand , and small hand . So . 4 , copies of single , or running band .
Ad00414
IMPORTANT TO TAILORS . Just published / price 3 s . Cd ., the Fourth Edition of THE TAILOR'S DIRECTORY . Containing a new system of Cutting all kinds of Coats , Vests , Trousers , Breeches , Gaiters , Youths' Dresses , etc ., Cloaks , Capes , Habits , Rox Coats , he , with upwards of thirty figures illustrative of the same ; to which is added a complete Practical Treatise on the Art of Making up . Dy W . Alexander , late Practical Cutter in Paris , who warrants this to be his true and secret system . London : J . Gladding , 20 , City-road , opposite Buiihillfields . N . B . —The above Work can be sent free per post , upon the remittance to the publisher of forty-six postage stamps .
Ad00415
TO TIIE SOCIAL REFORMERS AND TRADES UNIONISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN , CONTINENTAL EUROPE , AUD THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . IJOBERT OWES , Founder of the Rational System of lb Society , having taken back the Copyright of his Weekly Journal , entitled the" NEW MORAL WORLD , " in consequence of certain alterations caused by the present position of the _IIARMONY HALL Experiment , has entrusted the Editorship thereof to
Ad00416
JUST PUBLISHED , In one volume , foolscap Svo ., neat cloth , price 7 s . Cd ., THE PURGATORY OF SUICIDES A Prison Rhyme : in Ten Books : BY THOMAS COOPER THE CHARTIST . 3 . How , Publisher , 132 , _Flect-strcct . _£ - * _r Orders from the Country to be sent through the Booksellers .
Armusg Accidest. —On Tuesday Evening A Most Aimallimr Event Hannened On Boai-3 Thc Moon-
ArmusG Accidest . —On Tuesday evening a most aimallimr event hannened on _boai-3 thc Moon-
Shine Steamer, Which ' Runs From London-...
shine steamer , which ' runs from London-bridge to Chelsea , resulting , tliere is too much reason to fear , from the carelessness of those who had the management ofthe boat . The vessel had reached Hungerford-brldge , from whicli place she was about to start when the accident took place . Thc captain had given word to go on a-head _, when loud cries issued from that part of the vessel to let go the rope whieh fastened her to another about leaving the pier for London-bridge . _3 * o one , however , attended to the call . The boats being set in motion by the engines , went on as far as the rope would allow them ; and the result wag , that a youth seated in the bows ofthe vessel , with his feet on thc pile of the rope , was caught in its folds , and the two boats were not released until the rope had completely severed one of the poor fellow ' s legs from his body , and broken the © th . er . in two places .
SiXGCUR asd Fatal "AcciDExr . —On ' AVcducsday an inquest was held before Mr . Thomas Wakley , M . P ., atthe Shakespeare ' s Head , Perceval-street , Clerkenwell , on the body of Alfred Styles , an infant , eleven months old , who came by his death under the following singular circumstances : —It appeared from the evidence , that the father of the deceased is a joint finisher , and on Monday morning last , in order to keep the cliijrd out ofthe way , it was put to sleep in te parlour , its bed being formed by two pillows and two chairs . The child remaining quiet for some tme the servant girl entered the room , and was orror-struck at finding that during her absence the
child had awakened , and in moving about its bodyhad slipped through the hack rails of the chair , and had become suspended by thc back of the head and ehin . beingjammed bitwecn the bars . Assistance was immediately procured , and Mr . Todd , a medical man , was called in . He at once opened tliejugular vein , from which the blood flowed freely ; but the child was quite dead . The coroner commented on the singular nature of the accident , and remarked that ao blame appeared to be attached to any person , as children were often left alone in a similar manner without any accident occurring . Thejury returned a _verdictiif" Accidental death . "
I Fatal Accihext ox Reigiuqxg _fkc-m _Babxet Races . —On Tuesday last Mr . Henry lkomlcy , the ' landlord of . the _Jirecknock Arms Tavern , ISew Gamden Town , proceeded on horseback in the morning to Barnet races . On arriving at Ilollowa = v on liis return , his _hon-e-sVied on turning an angle in the road , and became _r estive , darting forward , when Mr . B . was dislodge * . *! frem his seat , and fell over its head on to some granife -sim . es . _Asiistance was immediately rendered , and & e deceased carried to a _sunreonin the neighbourhood , where he was found to be frightfully cut and braised , aud to have sustained such severe internal injury as to cause his death very shortly afterwards . The body . was . subsequently conveyed home , toawaitaoottuier ' _sinviuest .
Shine Steamer, Which ' Runs From London-...
— _¦• _.., >¦ _-CO-OPERmVE LAND SOCIETY . I hereby direct that all monies payable to mc , as _treasurer to ihe Qiartist : Co-operatire Lund Fund , must be transnrittcdas fellow's : —Either by Hank order or Post-office order , to the " -care of Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., 310 Stnud , XonfioE ; " and payable to me , " \ V . P . Roberts . " That is , _* thattay signature sliall be ' required to each order . Tliis -Sircction is plain , i ' or instance , say tliat 'Edward Hobson , of Ashton , has £ 10 to transmit ; he is to transmit the same to Mr . O'Connor , by Rank letter . or Posl-oflice order , made payable to W . P . Roberts . That order 1 can sign when I go to London , or when a parcel of tliem are sent to me . Tlie two only things required to secure the triumph of Labour's battle arc , union _tsmoug " the working _clas-scs , and iindcviating honesty mid punctualitv on the part of tliose who have
the management of tnuir _ntlitirs . I therefore adopt this _pla-n , that we may have upon each other ws -many salutary checks as possible . This is advisable , as much for our own mutual satisfaction , ns for the satisfuctiou of the subscribers . I therefore request that these plain and simple instructions may be _puncttinlly attended to in all cases . To save , additional . postage , each letter containing a , money order , wny also contain a list of the respective sums , and all other information necessary for the general secretnrv , Mr . Wheeler , to Im *? ; which letter Mr . O'Connor will duly forward to him . This done , there can be no pustule about the accounts .
_YT . V . Rouerts , Treasurer . All orders should be made payable at ISO , Strand , London . —V . P . R . rTh « above mod « lias been adopted at my suggestion , in consequence of the endless trouble I have liad , owing fo some parties sending me I ' ost-oflice orders payable to my order ; and some to Mr . Roberts' order . Obsci vance of tbe above very simple rule will insure uniformity , satisfaction , and protection . There is a difficulty at the branch Post-offices about getting monies , when the orders are not signed by the _persons to whom they are made payable . Feargus O'Cosson . l
The Northern Star. Saturday, August 23, 1s15.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , AUGUST 23 , 1 S 15 .
The Rock A-Head! What Will "Bl'eculat10s...
THE ROCK A-HEAD ! WHAT WILL _"Bl'ECULAT 10 S " BO FOR VSt Wx offer no apology for returning to thc question ef Railway speculation . The extent to which this has gone , and the tremendous consequences involved in _thoroaetioiui . _ra to follow , render the subject all-important—one that ought to be made familiar to all concerned—examined in all its bearings—that the people may be prepared io meet the coming evil in the best manner possible .
It is our purpose , on the present occasion , to show that past experience does not wan ant the high expectations of " benefit" indulged in by the projectors of thc numerous lines of Railway , with which they have proposed to intersect the United Kingdom ; that the return for former expenditures ef capita has not been such as to warrant other similar expenditures , unless in certain special cases , if remuneration to the subscribers is to be hoped for ; and that thc prices which Railway Shares , both of existing and projected lines / have lately "fetched" in the " market , " are artificial and forced—such as cannot survive the furor of the present speculative mania , but must come tumbling down faster than tliey went up , thc moment the reaction commences , to the utter ruin of thousands , the derangement of thc " money market" generally , and the consequent paralysation of all industrial operations .
The dreams that have been indulged in , by those whose minds have been seized by the MAD desire to become rich without labouring for riches , have been romantic indeed ! Looking at sonic four or five of the existing lines of railways , where favourable situation and absence of competition have caused them to pat _WEix , and , as a consequence , to legitimately enhance the price of shares ; looking at these few cxecptions to . the general rule applicable tothe whole amount of present Railway investments , the raw
speculator came tothe conclusion that he had only to subscribe his money for thc making of a thing called a Railway , and that the result would be a certain DOUBLING OF ITS VALUE at once , as certainly as that " London and Birminghams" arc at £ 225 . It is Mm desire ; this hope to obtain riches without labour ; this endeavour to become possessedof wealth without giving an equivalent for it : it is this desire that is at the bottom of all the gambling we have seen , and all the bitter _consequences wo aro about to endure . And what foundation is there for such
extravagant expectations ? What aro the facts , as developed on former occasions , from former similar applications of capital , on which to ground such wild hopes ? _IIbau the answer ! Hear it , from the mouth of Lord Brougham , uttered as a warning some short time before the closingof thc session . Hear it ; and then judge of the prudence and wisdom ot those who have risked their all on tho venture of " realising" a "fortune" in no time ! Hear it , and obtain some idea , as to the probable return for the immense amount of capital now in course of "investment . " To warn the reckless speculators , and to impart t 0 them a knowledge of former results , Lord Brougham strung together a number of striking and startling facts , in manner following : —
If the Government and the Legislature would take a more extensive and systematic view of these speculations , it _ivould have tlie effect of checking some of them , ot preventing the completion of others , and , it might be , stopping some which had been alreadyadopted . He should not grieve at this , for he was fullg persuaded that they went too far , and that before many montlis were over their heads a reaction * woum take place , and that more or less ravaging anil sweeping effects would occur to thc commercial and monetary
interests of the country . Ho had done his duty by addressing them in that place ; he held it to be equally the duty of all good citi / . cnshavingthemeaiis of addressing others to avail themselves of those means ; and it was especially the duty of those in whose hands was the publicprcss of this country , by which he meant thc newspaper and periodical press , for every press was public—he held it to be then-duty as well as his own , to give timely and effectual teaming to the community , and above all , to protect , the
6 AFETr OK INDIVIDUALS FROM TIIE FRENZY OF _SI'ECl ! - LATIO . V , WHICH WAS _DRIV _1 . VG ME . V TO DESTItLCnO . V . He must refer to the report of the committee of the other house as an especial warning to those persons who embarked a few hundreds or thousands , scraped together , perhaps , as the result of a long life , or possibly the saving of penurious and sober habits for half a fifeor more , which might be drawing to a close , when thoso means would be required as a provision for near aud dear relations ; it was his duty to refer to this , as a warning to those who were risking their ruin on the assurance that the projectors told the truth , even if they could tell the truth , for they were often as much deceived as others in their sanguine
expectations . Let than listen , and see ivhat had been thc results of speculations in railway shares . If in ISiQ , oc in 18 * 3701 ' IS 38 ; _orstii ! more / if 10 years prior to that period , any parties had been told that they would not make enormous fortunes by buying shares , they would have turned a deaf car . They then talked , notof 5 , 6 , tv 7 percent ., —but never less than lo _or 20 percent , xvould be tlte result of every speculation in shares . What was the fact ? By the returns before them , they had the average per ccntagc on the £ 32 , 000 , 000 worth of shares at the original price , though as many as had been bought at a premium , the amount invested , instead of being £ 32 , 000 , 000 , would , in all probability , be £ 42 , 000 , 000 . But the
average profit now received for these £ 32 , 000 , 000 , not ofthe lines that had failed , but of those that had succeeded , —for he had left out some who did not pay any dividend at all , —was , —not 20 per cent , nor 15 per cent . ; and it _irould formerly have been difficult to have brought down expectation so low ; it would have been called so shabby an interest that it would not be worth a gentleman or gentlewoman ' s consideration—no such thing ; but oj per cent , was the average profit ; . _ci- cent : of thc xvhole £ 32 , 000 , 000 . That was tub _ArsEAGK or the whole . But suppose these unfortunate persons had taken partof £ 10 , 000 , 000 of those , the interest would not have been 51 , but less than 5 per cent . , * less interest
than the parties could have made by lending their money to good bill brokers , or by investment in small mortgages of £ 500 , if they had paid a premium . Suppose they had taken part itt £ 0 , 500 , 000 outof thc £ 16 , 000 , 000 , they would have got less than 3 per cent . ; less than they could get hy investment in thc 3 per Cent . Consolidated Bank Annuities . i \ av , they might have gone to a lower scale still . If any one had ventured to aay , tbat in some of the railways tlic profits on these speculations would be under 2 per cent ., he believed that he would have been met with the contempt ol the men and with thc hvstcrics
' of the women , * yet £ 2 , 000 , 000 had paid less than 2 percent . ; and , if the premiums were deducted , less still , and this after running all risks of not being paid at all ! He had looked through the returns " and found , that on the stock of 12 railroads no dividend had been paid ; and on 12 others that the dividend had been only £ 1 lis . Gd . per cent . There had been £ 42 , 000 , 000 paid up . When the sharejobbers asked a maiden lady or a widow _Jadv for lier £ 5 , 000 or £ 6 , 000 , or when the poor clergyman , who had saved this sum to keep his daughters from the necessity of seeking situations after his death , was applied " to , tliese railway jobbers—speculators , lie
The Rock A-Head! What Will "Bl'eculat10s...
meant—gave tike most flourishing accounts ; they said * hat there would ncvcr * J _. c more than 5 per cent _calkr . for—that was one _vsf their baits—or at the outside 10 per cent ; and thatthe shares would get up ., and so _« iabio . thc , _ipwtics to sell out , and double their money , and bit rich for all the rest of their lives . Instead of " having httd to pay up 10 percent , tliey had in most instsiuees paid 1 U 0 per cent . Of . the . £ i 3 , G 00 , 000 paid _¦ bc _eiii ! _wunis £ - ' 5 , 500 , 000 which _u- _UUl-D NOW HKLIi _-l'OI . COXSIDKIiABLY I . KSS THAN AT
TUB T 11 IK . WHKS . TIIE SUMS WE 11 K PAID . . £ 9 , 000 , 000 out of the £ 42 , 000 , 030 would sell for one-half what was paid , and £ il , < _80 \) , iW for one quarter ; so that tub _i-Ainr wouu > only okt £ V 2 a _tkaii _t-on mi £ 1 , 000 , _ixsTKiD of £ 30 , which he might have procured in the Three per Cent . ' Consols . All that was necciisnr . y was an honest and conscientious warning to his feho .. _' -citu . ci . s ; especially to those who xvere not wallowing hi-wealth , against indulging in . this furor ot ' . Bpcculation .
_Tiium- ! There are crumbs of comfort for those who have risked all they possessed , in the vain hope f " realising at least 20 per cent . ! " Let them look the _jMcia above set forth fairly in thc face—! et them consider on tliem , and ask themselves il * they were justified in seeking the golden needle in sueh a bottle of hay ! There is another modo " of putting this question , as to the probability of profit from the contemplated investment of such an amount of capital ; a mode lumpily adopted by tlic Spectator , whose remarks we subjoin . They bear intimately on the branch of the subject now under consideration , as the " ' reader will find . Lot the most sanguine " speculator" say , whether he dare even to hope that the rcsuit herein set forth , as necessary to pay him even the ordinarv
per ccntagc , can ever 'be realised ? The Spectator says : — On a moderate estimate , the railways already iu existence and to be executed may be taken to cost ... £ 130 . 000 . 000
The gross profit on that capital , at 8 percent .., would be ... ... 12 , 000 , 000 From whicli a deduction of 05 per ' cent , lor expenses ( the lowest ex * penditure of any lai _^ o company ) would amount to ... ... 4 , 200 , 000 Leaving the net _prafit of ... ... ? _, 800 , 000 or nut quite 5 i per cent , upou the capital . Iii other words , to afford the shareholders in all our completed and projected railways a " return , of rather less than 5 £ per cent , upon their outlay , the public must annually expend £ 12 , 000 , 000 , in railway travelling aloue !!
The word " million" comes glibly from tlie tongue , but conveys no tangible image to the mind . An _en ' ort is required to realise to the imagination the magnitude oftlie sum which must be annually spent on railway travelling to yield our speculators a moderate profit on their capital . Let any one attempt distinctly and articulately to count aloud from one to a million ; he will find ifc hard work to enunciate on the average one thousand numbers in the hour , and would consequently require 100 days for ten hours a day to count the million . The mechanical operation of telling over a million of sovereigns piece by piece would occupy a full month , at the rate of
3 , 000 an hour for ten hours a day . The joint earnings of 1 , 8 * 10 agricultural labourers with their 7 s . a weelffor thirty years each , not a working-day left out , ivould be less titan a million of pounds sterling . Tho . joint earnings of 610 mechanics at 20 s . a week , toiling each as unremittingly during the same period , would not amount to a million of pounds sterling . The pay of ninety British general officers at £ 1 a day , would not in thirty years amount to a million of pounds sterling . ¦ ' ¦ So much of toil , and-danger , and exposure to the elements—so much of patient , persevering , and more or less skilful industry—so much of valour , and accomplishment , and high spirit , as represented by money—may be bought for a million of pounds sterling .
And our railway projectors andspeeulatars calculate upondrawing twelve of these millions annually from the pockets ofthe public . In other words , they expect that 12 , 000 , 000 of people—half the population of the three kingdoms , men , women , and children ( at _IJd . per- mile)—will each travel 100 miles by railway every year , and pay them 20 s . ahead . Or tliey expect that 1 , 000 , 000 people will travel 1 , 920 miles each in the course of the year , and pay them £ 12 a head . Oi * they expect that 120 , 000 people will each travel 10 , 000 miles by railway every year , and pay them £ 100 per head . Beit remembered , too , that railway travelling constitutes but . a fraction" of the whole annual travelling of tho nation . Our railways
existent and in projection , embrace- not one-half of the surface and population of Great Britain ; and even in the railway districts there is active competition from steam-beats , omnibuses , cabs , vans , spring-carts , he . The steam-boats of tho Thames and the Clyde carry more passengers than the Greenwich , BlackwaU ,-. aml Glasgow and Greenock railways . In the great towns , not only the wealthier classes as a badge of station and for amenity , but traelesnien for professional purposes keep vehicles which when travelling on business or for pleasure they from sheer economy generally employ in preference to other modes of _coiw-cyanee . In the rural districts , landowners and farmers do the same . -Again , thc prico of a
railwayticket is only part of the outlay of the railway-traveller on conveyances . In most cases it implies the additional expense of short stage , cab , or bus , to convey him to and from the railway , or from one railway to another . Onr sanguine projectors and speculators pay little heed to these considerations ; though the brokers _, who are agonts in the transfer of shares , often ask each other in wonderment , where all the travellers are to come from ? Put the question to any dabbler in railway stock , and he replies with an " Oh , with the . increase of locomotive facilities travelling will increase'indefinitely . " It may be so : hitherto the theory has held good ; yet there must be some natural limit to the activity of the principle . Men do not travel for travelling sake , hut on business or for pleasure—to earn money , or to spend it ; and what
possible facility will set ' racn in motion where these motives are wanting ? The enormous amount of money invested in railways would seem to imply tliat some classes of Englishmen are expected to live on railways ,. as some classes of . Chinese live on their canals . To render these undertakings remunerative , a numerous portion of society would need , like the fabled birds of paradise , to keep always on the wing —to spend their lives darting from town to town with the velocity of swallows in a summer evening . The boldness and extent of these aggregate undertakings convey a magnificent idea of the resources and enterprise of Britain ; but their very magnitude lies like a . load on the imagination , while the incessant restlessness and swift movements they presuppose in such a numerous class of thc community make the head giddy only to think of .
Need there be another word said ? Is not the adducing of fact as to the return for former " investment , " and the clear setting forth of the extent of travelling necessary to yield the income the present investments will call for to " realise" only in accord _, ancewith the _former ones , sufficient to show that thc _day-ilroams of the reckless and the uninformed aro incapable of realisation ? If it will require £ 12 , 000 , 000 to be expended annually hy the people of these three kingdoms , in Railway travelling alone , to yield the " investors" five per cent ., is it at all likely that they will ever toueh the contemplated fifteen or twenty per cent . ? The fact is , that two-thirds of the schemes arc mere BUBBLES ! The projectors
of them never intend to consttuet thc lines , _yioy even to seek for power to do so . They see tho mania for becoming rich through gambling thoroughly set in . I hey take advantage of that spirit ; and put forth all sorts of projects , —some of them as wild as an attempt to colonise the moon . No matter . The public mind ' s in no condition to inquire . It run 3 madly after every bubble that is . blown "' No sooner is the most unlikely scheme named , than hosts of applications for " shares" shower in on the self-constituted Directory . The deposits are paid . These the Directors " fob ;" expend them in surveys , plans , buying down opposition , and in lawyers' charges . Meantime the shares are in the market . The reckless desire on tho part of the" traffickers" to " do business , " that they may realize their " fortunes , " induces them , to dabble in _evcrvthin-j that comes to hand . The unnatural
amount of business thus transacted forces up the prices of all shares in the market . In a rising marto somebody will pocket money . To get their share of this , others flock in , and buy , and buy , and sell , and sellaway . Prices again go up ; andso on , until tiie reverse comes—when down they go—and the unfortunate " _lioirDEns" at the time _sustai : _*) THE _j _. oss ' Amidst the woe and wailing everywhere aboundiin * the projected "lines" are for gotten—suffered to drop out of recollection . The Directory have * ' spent " the deposits ; they have nothing to go to Parliament with ; the shares are at a disco unt in the market : and thus the BUBBLE ends , as far as the Directory and the poor fleeced "holders" are concerned : but thc evil resulting from the general state of things , ofwhich this is but a singled-out sample , are left to be grappled with by the nation at large I
What _lii-ose results are likely to be , eren under the most favourable of circumstances , may he inferred from the following article , extracted from a
The Rock A-Head! What Will "Bl'eculat10s...
late number of the 'Globe . It contains the best _i-casoning on the subject that we have yet seen . It will be well if that reasoning has its effecfc on the minds « f those who cau do something to mitigate the evils now sure to come . To talk of preventing them would ba folly . We have advanced too far for that . But soinctihiEgniay be done , and much too , to break the force of the "blow to confidence" that must be endured . Acts for a considerable number of lines are obtained . The contracts on ; a good number of them are already Jet . The land has to bo paid for . The works have to be executed . The calls must be made . - Those calls cannot be honoured by the major portion of the present "holders . " To get clear , they must sell . So many , sellers will tumble down thc price . This will alarm others . More ' seller *!; less price ; premium gone !; shares at a discount ; banks forced to refuse " accommodation ; " discounts in the
money-market at a high rate ; confidence gone ! ; manufacturers , agriculturalists , and money-dealers all in one me . * s of ruin together ! Sec the whole course of the affair pointed out by thc Globe . _*•—If speculation in railway shares were really what it is supposed to be by the greater number of those now engaged in it , wc might congratulate our readers on tlic . extent to which it lias been carried in this eoKiitry during the last twelve months _. We are inclined , however , to believe that most ofthe speculators ' understand but very imperfectly what they are about , and that any such congratulation , would be extremely premature . ' If we survey the whole of the schemes now before thc public , and consider the present aspect of the railway share-market , and apply it to tho experience of only the last twenty years in this country , it is not easy to avoid the conclusion that much more has already beat projected than can le completed without producing serious embarrassment ,
Wc do not for an instant doubt the very great practical value of railways . As means of cheap and rapid internal communication , they are , - perhaps , the most valuable improvements that can bo made in a commercial and manufacturing country . Nay , 'if , instead _ofprojectini ; and completing ' within the next few years 1 , 000 or 2 , 000 miles of these new roads , we cou _' . d make 20 , 000 or 30 , 000 miles , wc do not doubt that the result would be a proportionate addition to the real wealth and the productive capabilities ofthe country . But witli nations as with individuals , it is not enough that an improvement is desirable . It
should also be within our moans . Taking the cost at the ver . rloivcstiiii < 'ttoof £ _l- ) , 000 permile _, 30 , 000 miles would require an expenditure of £ 300 , 000 , 000 ; and he must form an estimate of the resources ofthis country much exceeding ours who would seriously counsel such an expenditure , at once , even for sneh a purpose . The construction ofa railway , or any similar permanent work , is a conversion of floating into fixed capital . Tuk . period of . _coxstkuctjiok is that of conversion ; and until both are complete no return can be made . It amounts to a _oradoal absorption _of-floatino capital ; WHIGII . FOR THE _TIMK , IS AS MUCH SUNK AS IF IT WERE
EXPENDED IN AN ATTEMPT TO DRAIN THE OCEAN . It is palpably possible , even for such a country as this to sink too much in this manner within a given lime . And nothing is more likely than that during a period of speculation , and while large immediate profits are made by simply writing the sum _totalupon paper and paying 5 per cent , of its amount the national resources should be pledge I beyond what they will ultimately be found able to sustain . Thc amount subscribed during the present year in this country for new lines of railway at home and abroad cannot bo taken at loss ' than £ 150 , 000 , 000 .
Assuming that three years is ' , o be thc average period for tho completion of the works , and that the expenditure is distributed equally over that period , and does not exceed thc estimate , we have £ -50 , 000 , 000 as the amount to be annually sunk during the next three years on account of tliese schemes alone . Thc projects of past years , yet in progress , will ndd something to this . And should the spirit of speculation now abroad continue unchecked next year , and the next , it may bo expected to add still further to thc drain on tlic national purse . For the sake of simplicity , however , we willconfine our view to the schemes ofthe present session .
It may aid our conception of the practical operation of such an expenditure ' as we have described to compare it with other outgoings of similar amount . Itis about equal , for instance , to the declared value of all the British and Irish produce annually exported from the United Kingdom . It is rather more than the whole , public revenue . _ And it is about ten times the annual amount of the income-tax . Let it then be supposed that for three years we continued our present exports of British produce and manufactures without receiving one farthing in thc shape of return , or that the income-tax were ' increased tenfold , or the Parliamentary taxation doubled for the same term , and wc may form some idea of the extent of tlic present speculations in a monetary point of view .
A ghnceat the state of thc _^ sliare-market , however , shows that there all is confidence and hope . Not only thc shares of nearly all the projected lines are selling at high premiums , but , though two or three new schemes come out every week , the facility with which new subscriptions arc obtained still enables the projectors to make thc award of even a few shares a matter of high favour . But , it is impossible to review the history of railways in this' country , and the nature of thc system itself , together with thc extent of the schemes now before the public , and to bclicvo that the confidence with wliich all classes arc now investing their available means in these speculations is well founded . Not only is the proposed expenditure greater in the aggregate than is at all
commensurate -. with tbe available pecuniary resources of thc country , and therefore not justified by any anticipations of profit , but these anticipations , as they are now generally indulged in , arc greatly beyond what can be justified by an appeal to facts . It seems to le entirely forgotten , that the more the railway system is extended , the more nearly it must approach tlie [ eondition of a mere substitute for the chief common roads ofthe country ; thatit cannot take from these the whole of their traffic ; and that the more numerous thc lines arc , thk siorf . -equal will tufa * _shauk what THEY no take . Tlicfirst railway through a large district has an advantage which no following one ean have * , and which is diminished by every facility afforded by new lines and branches to
particular localities in tho same district . Yet oftlie twentyfour lines first constructed in the united kingdom , not more than half realized more than 5 per cent , on the capital invested to begin with . And it is evident , from a variety of considerations , that no new line can be expected ultimately to return much more than thc ordinary interest of money . But until thc projected lines are completed no return can be looked for ; and , if they continue to increase in number as they have lately , the completion of more than asmall proportion of them will bo impossible . We need scarcely advert to thc fact , that . a very large proportion of the shares issued to the public during the last twelve months arc in the hands of persons who hold them , not for investment , but merely for speculation ; who have beeii tempted to buy only by the hope of being able soon to sell to advantage . This is well
known , yet it is scarcely compatible , under any view of the circumstances , with thc successful issue of speculations so extensive . Every week increases thc number of such persons in the market and the extent to which they arc involved , and will continue to do so while thc prevailing mania shall last . Now , let it be supposed that the enormous draught upon the floating capital oftlie country necessary to realise these schemes , produces only such a pressure on tlte moneymarket as sliall raise the interest of money to four per cent ., and keep it there ; is it to be doubted thatthe shares of the new schemes generally would sink at least to par , and that thc prices of shares in the old lines xvould fall from the height they have been raised lo latel y , by the hopes conceived from new branches nnd amalgamations , to about the prices of this time last year ? Let onlxi such a fall take place AND
_EIGIIliifcA or _TVVENTr MILLIONS of PRO I'E . _U'Y , NOW SALEABLE IX TIIE _SIURE-MAnKl'T , and of which half-pan officers , tradesmen , and clerks are faroc holders , WOULD VANISH ALTOGETHER . .. If the present gradual rise in the price of shaves continues , the longer the fall is postponed the greater it will bo when it conies ; and that tho rise will con * tinuo till vague doubt takes tbe place of blind confidence , and the hope of gain gives way to a general fear of loss , wo have the warrant of all past experience . But such a change in a market filled with perwhowhatever their
sons , pecuniary resources may be , haveno very definite idea of the , real bearing ' of their speculations upon the monetary and commercial transactions of the countrv , " can scarcely take place without ExcmxG GENERAL PANIC . If alarm be once felt , the fall vAll not stop at par . Prices riso now because tliere arc more buyers than sellers ; and , tinder this condition , will continue to rise . And when they begin to fall , it will be because there are more sellers than buyers ; and the fall will go on till the equilibrium is restored , or , in other words , till thc alarm is blown over .
There is thc whole thing ! Tho Globe has correctly described the operation of tho entire system _. The evils _. vhich he ascribes to tlic full expenditure of tho entire capital of the aggregate of schemes , will attend in degree ' aw the expenditure' of capital for the lines already determined on . What that amount will be , we arc just about to show . Here is the statement : — Now that the most eventful session of Parliament recorded in railway history has reached its close we arc enabled to announce , from official returns , the following as the results of its legislation Parlia ment has sanctioned the construction of 2 , 000 mile * of new railways in England and Scotland , and of SCO miles in Ireland . This is in effect to double the extent ot the railways of Great Britain , exclusive of Ireland , lhe capital authorised to be raised in shares for this purpose amounts to £ 31 , 680 , 000 , ex-
The Rock A-Head! What Will "Bl'eculat10s...
clusive of £ 0 , 800 , 000 required for thc Irish lines , _making in all £ 33 , 480 , 000 to be applied in England within the next two or three years for our own railways . It will thus be seen that tlic amount to be provided for thc new railways is sufficiently largo to require serious consideration , and to arrest the ' progress of reckless speculation . Tax million's' of pounds a-year , for the next three years , will thus be required for the " sinking-fund " at home , and £ 10 , 000 , 000 more forthe formation of Railways abroad ! No less a sum than _tivrxty Mil - lions will have to be abstracted from the usuaC pursuits of commerce Mid agriculture , to be cnmloved
in operations which cannot yield a fat-thin * in retu ' rn for some three years ! Can this be done without dera »<< cm < nt to existing interests ? Will if 1 ,-,.-* . , l - L _n-i _. c no effect _m the money-market ? Must not money lie come " scarce ? " Will not discounting he next to impossible ? Then the manufacturers will fccJ it Country bankers will have to keep a tiaht hand There will be no " advance , " no " accommodation " The mills will close ; the " hands" will be turned 0 « the streets ; and we shall again have acro mds mh lished of people being found _foodless , naked _destitute ; calling on God to put an end to their ' suffering before morning !"
The Prospects Of The Harvest. Tins, Too,...
THE PROSPECTS OF THE HARVEST . Tins , too ,, is au all-important ; question . If \\ ie fears generally entertained should unhappily prova to be well-founded , our condition will 1 ) C awful in . deed ! The evils impending over us from the Mad " doings oftlie "i » bosi'kihtv-mo . \ okus , " are fearful enough : but if to these are to he added the certain misery that a deficiency of food will cause , wc _sh-ill indeed be doubly scourged ! The lato ooodness ' _, ; trade , and " spurt" of " _ruosi-mtiir' _^ has been
universally attributed in the warn to the gene ™ abundance of the last two or three harvests , in ow case , it has been computed that , at least , £ 5 , 000 , 000 of money has been kept in the pockct : s 0 f 0 (| l , people to expend in the manufacturing market , through thc abundance of good with which wc were blessed hist autumn ; and if £ 5 , 000 , 000 so left make ' . ill the difference between " _prosit-mtv _' _- and " adversity , " what will the effect bo of having to send ' £ 7 , 000 , 000 or £ 10 , 000 , 000 abroad for food , aud extract some £ 20 , 000 _, 000 'besi < le , ii ' rora the
ordinary pwrauts of industry , for the llaihvay Si . VKl . _wi-uxu ? I ' . Respecting the probable yield ofthe Harvest , there is , as may be expected , considerable difference of opinion . Some of the journals in thc agricultural districts , published during the few fine days of last week , contend that there is not much reason to fear ; while others are filled with most sorrowful _fo-- _ boilings . Thc last number of thc Mark- Lane / . Vpms has the following , published after the return of _n-ct weather , and founded on information irom all pails of the countrv ' : —
Though comparatively little rain has fallen in the immediate vicinity of London during the week , _Uu > weather appears to have been quite as unfavourable in otlier parts of the kingdom as before . The accounts from some of the eastern counties , respecting the effects of the rain and cold on the wheat crop , arc as bad as any which wc have yet received on tlio subject . In addition to the previous complaints of blight , rust , ic , we now hear , from all quarters , that the more luxuriant aud heavy crops have been very extensively lodged , and otherwise damaged , besides which , sprout is vevy generally spoken of . That the yield of wheat will Ic deficient in quantity , and defective in quality , can so loxokk be _douiitkii ; the extent of the deficiency will still , in a great measure , depend on thc character of tho weather experienced next month ; but , even under the most
_FAVOUnABLB CincUMSTAKCF . B WHICH CAS SOW OCCUlt , an average produce cannot be expected . Latterly , we have received some very unsatisfactory accounts respecting potatoes : a similar ( disease to that so much complained of in Holland having , it is stated , attacked the crop in various parts of the kingdom . We sincerely trust that this injury may not prove to be general , or the consequences would be even more severely felt than tliose arising from a deficient wheat crop . By our Scotch advices , it appears that the weather has been fully as nngenial m that country as in thc south , * and notwithstanding the dull reports from hence , wheat was held Is . to Is . Cd . per quarter higher at Edinburgh on Wednesday than on that day se ' nnight .
From Ireland , particularly from the southern parts of the island , the reports of the weather arc not of so unfavourable a character , and busincssin wheat seems to have been agood deal influenced by the flat advices from this side of the channel . The Liverpool Times takes a View of the question whicli seems to hold out a hope that wc sliall not Mfe _t . ' wn- be subjected to alt , the evils of speculation in food , in addition to the evil of a short supply and the concurrent evils of " share" speculation . According to that journal the dearth of food on the continent , and the probability of a bad harvest there too , is likely to be of some advantage to us ; or at least to save us from some scourging disadvantages . He says - . —
The question of whether the corn crops have been injured by the late unseasonable weather , is one which cannot be answered in a single word . IVherc thc fields are large aud open , the corn still stands erect , and looks well ; but in small fields , and under trees and fences , itis too much twisted and beaten ever to recover . To secure a . good sample , this beaten grain should be gathered and thrashed by itself , and in that case the bulk may still turn out tolerably well , if wc should have good weather from this timeforward .
But although thc prospects of thc harvest must be _retarded as uncertain , wc still entertain strong hopes that the country will escape many of the evils which have attended former deficient harvests , even if thc present should prove to be a deficient one . When the last cycle of bad harvests commenced , thc neighbouring ports of the continent were crowded witli grain , which had been accumulating for several years , and whicli was to be had at prices very tempting to speculators . Several million quarters of this were immediately bought up , and poured into the country ina few weeks , to thc utter ruin of the Exchanges . This is quite impossible now , for the Hamburg h and Baltic ports arc barer of wheat at thc present
time than they have been for ' ' several years , and tho _Rn-sian and Belgian buyers arc competing against the English in those markets for the little that remains . A great rise in the price of grain has already taken place in Germany and Poland , quite sufficient to render any extensive ? speculation in German and Polish wheat very hazardous , lt is also very doubtful whether the result of tlm present harvest iu tlio _uoi-thciii part of the continent oi Europe will be such as to bring down prices , even when the new wheat begins to arrive . In the last fortnight of July , the whole valley ofthe Vistula , the great _wheat'district of Dantzic , was flooded from the frontiers of Ilumrarv to thc Baltic sea ; and the late
accounts from Belgium and North Germany are quite as unfavourable for the harvest as thc English accounts . Therefore , even if large supplies of grain should be required from abroad , it is very unlikely that any considerable portion ot it will come from the Baltic , and impossible that it can be poured in from that quarter at the rate of millions of . quarters at a , time , as ifc was sonic years ago . Tliose who have held German and Polish wheat ( or old wheat of any kind ) for some time , and those who wentv into the market early , can scarcely fail to do well ; for a certain quantity of old wheat must be wanted ; but those who have gone into these markets late , or who shall go into them now , will do it at great risk . Besides having to guard against all the chances ol thc English harvest , they will have to struggle against
the sliding scale , which is likely to be kept at its highest . figure by quantities of damp wheat poured into the market " immediately after the harvest , and against the excellent and abundant crop of Canadawheat , admissible at all times at one shilling duty , and that of thc United States , admissible by way of Canada , at the duty of three shillings . Ail the accounts brought by the Britannia speak of large crops and low prices both in Canada and thc States ; anu these circumstances , together with thc gi'eat advantage of the duty , can scarcely fail to throw the greater portion of thc trade in foreign corn into that direction during thc present year , and thus to save us Irom some of the worst consequences which have hitherto aggravated the evils of a deiicicnt harvest , even il the present should prove to be one . '
Would not an extensive allocation of our own people on thc soil , and an extensive applicatio n of labour thereto , with the use of thc most improved modes of culture , save us , in a great measure , from the evils attendant on deficient harvests ? We mean _noUhat this would cause thc sun to shine , or the r am to cease ; but that the " surplus" of a good year would more than suffice for the deficiency of a bad _je" _* anil render us independent of " foreign _sitPPQJ altogether . It is true , however , that c «« _u « calta ° much to mitigate the rigour of climate . It _« aseei " taiued that there is a fortnight ' s difference m . |* time of ripening of corn grown on well drained' _^ That is ; that corn on well drained land is . np .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 23, 1845, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_23081845/page/4/
-